Bedtime Stories
by pendragon-alchemist
Summary: Young Arthur cannot sleep, so he questions Uther about his mother, Ygraine.


**Hey! First uploaded Fanfic, so be nice. Pretty much all the obvious stuff. I don't own Merlin, so don't bother. Anyways, a bit about the story. This is a oneshot. Maybe I'll write a sequel. We'll see how you guys like it.  
Summary: Young Arthur (about 6-7) can't sleep, so he does the one thing that any boy can think of. Wake up his father! Enjoy!  


* * *

**

Nighttime had fallen over Camelot. The stars were out, and the moon was high in the sky. The hallways were softly lit by the flickering light of torches, and almost everyone in the castle was asleep. The only exception was the young prince. He was sitting up on his bed with his eyes wide open, staring at the window. However, nothing exciting was going on so late at night. Prince Arthur thus decided to climb out of bed, and head over to the room next door.

Uther was sleeping soundly in his bed when he heard the knock on the door. It was rather unusual for his servants to bother him so late. He got up, and put on his robe before going to the door. When he opened it, he felt quite surprised at what greeted him. Staring up at him was his son.

"What are you doing here, little one? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I'm not sleepy," the five-year old replied.

"You still have to go to bed, Arthur." The king replied.

"But I'm not sleepy, daddy." His voice carried this determined tone that made Uther smile. He was certainly a Pendragon. He sighed and realized that he wasn't going to easily win this one.

"Would you like me to tuck you in?" he asked, seeing his little boy's eyes light up immediately. "After all, I already told you a bed time story." The little boy grabbed Uther's hand as he nodded. Uther just smiled, and walked over to Arthur's room. The candle was still on, and Arthur jumped onto his bed. Uther was about to tuck Arthur in, when the little Prince stopped him.

"It's not right daddy."

Uther sighed. "What's the matter son?"

"I don't have Pudsey," he said, his voice carrying a sad tone that made Uther's heart break. That kid seriously knew how to pull his heart strings, and sometimes he hated him for it.

The king looked around the room, until he caught sight of the bear, lying on the floor next to Arthur's wooden sword and shield. He picked it up, and dusted it off before giving it to the boy. Arthur smiled and hugged the bear tightly.

"So, are you ready for me to tuck you in?" Uther asked as he imagined returning to his nice, comfortable bed.

"Can you tell me another bedtime story?" The little boy asked.

Uther looked at his son, and pushed his blonde bangs out of Arthur's eyes. He reminded him so much of Igraine. Sometimes, Uther would wonder what she would have done if she had still been alive. How she would have taken care of their little prince? Would she have done anything different?

Uther sat on the bed, and the little boy snuggled up next to him. He was still hugging Pudsey tightly, as he looked up at his father and awaited what was to come.

"What do you want to hear tonight?"

Arthur stopped to think. There had been a story he had wanted to hear for some time, but had been afraid to ask. Somehow though, he felt that tonight, his father wouldn't mind. "Daddy, can you tell me about how you and mommy met?"

Uther felt like he had been hit hard on the stomach. Although he had told Arthur about his mother, Uther tried to avoid the subject because it was still much too painful to remember the memory of his dead wife. However, tonight, he saw that Arthur needed a connection to his mother. Uther was a good father, but he was bad with emotions. As a young Prince, his father had taught him to bottle up his emotions so they would not be his weakness. How could he have anticipated that one day, he would have to be both a mother and a father to his child?

"If it is what you want." Uther closed his eyes, and the image of the winter snow became vivid in his mind once again. "It was a bitter cold winter day as I headed off to Cornwall to visit Duke Gorlois."

The young Pendragon stared at his father patiently as he let the story unfold. "Your mother had been married to him, but in the time that I spent at Cornwall, we fell in love."

"But then why was mommy married to Duke Gorlois if she loved you, daddy?" Arthur interrupted.

"Because she had been forced into the marriage long before we had ever met," Uther replied, a tinge of sadness now visible in his face. "I seethed quietly during my state, but devised a plan to win her over."

"As soon as I returned home to Camelot, I waged a war on Cornwall. Our relations were not friendly to begin with, so it was easy to explain it on some political matter. Truth was I waged the war to win your mother." Uther smiled as he pictured Igraine, and added, almost in a whisper, "To win her from Gorlois."

Arthur looked excited as he heard the story. "Did you fight? Did you see many battles?"

The boy was a little too enthusiastic about war. He was too young to understand that it meant more than the knights putting on their armor and riding away valiantly towards battle.

"Yes, but it was not a glorious battle. There was much bloodshed on both sides; many good men lost their lives to war that would have probably been fought eventually."

Arthur fell back on the pillows, and looked away, feeling guilty for being so excited. Uther felt bad for being so harsh on the young boy, so he wrapped an arm around him to reassure the boy.

"As you can see, Camelot was victorious." Arthur turned back around and looked at Uther once again. "I headed to Corwall as soon as the war was over to get your mother, yet Gorlois still refused to give her up."

"What did you do, daddy?"

"What any honorable man should do. I challenged him to a duel, and Gorlois accepted." Uther paused to add to the dramatic intensity of the moment. He caught sight of Arthur strongly squeezing Pudsey.

"I won the duel, and your mother and I immediately rode back to Camelot. Once we were back, we married, and our kingdom rejoiced because they now had a Queen who was loved by all."

Uther began to tuck in the sides of Arthur's blanket. The little boy was yawning, but there was something about his face that troubled Uther.

"That's really scary…" the little boy said, almost in a whisper.

"Why do you say that, son?"

"Because, all those people died for mommy, and mommy died for me, so wouldn't all those people have died for me as well?"

Uther sighed again. His little boy was smart. Camelot was lucky to have such a young boy as their future king.

"In an indirect way, yes," Uther hugged his little boy slightly tighter. "You are the heir to Camelot. You, little Pendragon, are the most precious. Everyone in Camelot loves you, and anyone in this kingdom, even I, would give their lives so that you will one day be King."

"Did mommy love me?" Arthur asked, his voice slightly cracking with fear. Uther looked at Arthur and felt suddenly saddened for the boy. Was that what was troubling him all along?

"Of course she did, with all her heart." With his thumb, Uther slowly wiped away the tears that were beginning to fall from Arthur's eyes.

"I wish I had met her," he said softly, his voice breaking with each silent sob.

Not many things impacted Uther in an emotional level, but to see his young son, his pride and joy, crying like this broke his heart. It reminded him of the state he had been in after his birth. His heart had been overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment. In one arm he held the one thing he had wanted more than anything, a son, while in the other, he lost the woman who had meant his life. It had been both the happiest and saddest day of his life.

"I wish she could have stayed with us both," he said, partly for Arthur, but mostly for himself, trying to fight back tears. Arthur caught this, and hugged him tightly.

"I won't leave you daddy. I promise." Arthur smiled and Uther looked at his boy with pride. This little one was surely to become a wise King someday.

"You won't leave me, right daddy?"

"We must all leave this earthly plain one day, but I shall stay with you all long as I can," Uther said, giving Arthur a hug. Arthur wasn't crying anymore. Even though the answer wasn't what he wanted, it was good enough for the prince. He snuggled in deeper into the sheets and pulled Pudsey closer to him.

"Thank you daddy," Arthur said, with a yawn, as he closed his eyes. "That was a good story."

Uther pulled the blanket over him, and soon enough, the little Pendragon was asleep. Uther was going to get up, but felt Arthur's hand wrapped around his arm. He pulled a blanket and covered himself up, as he brought Arthur closer to him.

He imagined Igraine smiling at him, wherever she was, as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, comforting their son during this especially troubling night.

* * *

  
**OK, there it is! Please drop a review if you can :D**


End file.
